Maitland Political Monitor – 10 August 2018

10th August 2018

Good morning,

Boris Johnson’s burqa row rolls on into another day of full coverage during an otherwise quiet week during recess nearly 5 days after the Telegraph published Johnson’s original piece. After party Chairman Brandon Lewis announced there would be a formal investigation into Johnson for the comments, some right-wing supporters of Johnson are frustrated, saying that Lewis has managed to prolong the whole affair unnecessarily. Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell was on Newsnight last night backing Johnson and asking for some perspective to be employed “Let’s look at what Boris said. He expressed himself in colourful language, but he hasn’t committed any offense. We need to be really careful about our handling of this, because we believe in free speech in this country. Free speech by definition includes the fact that some people will be offended by what we say.”

Meanwhile, the PM is still having to deal with the fallout from her Chequers plan as Conservative Brexiteers discuss ways to stop it at all costs—including the possibility of withholding funding to CCHQ and even a general election. Also stoking the flames is a massive new YouGov poll for the “People’s Vote” campaign, which found 45 percent of people now back a referendum on the final deal, against 34 percent opposed. Former Cabinet Minister Priti Patel has come out in the Sun warning that the public will feel betrayed by May’s compromise plan and believes it could cost the Conservatives seats in working-class areas at the next election. Despite Patel’s gloomy predictions, a new Times/YouGov poll puts the Conservatives at a four-point lead over Labour.

Austria’s foreign minister Karin Kneissl believes that alarmists that say that Brexit is “the darkest hour” in British history are using the wrong analogy as there has certainly “been more difficult chapters in our common history. Instead, she notes that the agreement is 80% completed already and claims that “a pragmatic approach will make it easier to strike a balance between benefits and obligations.” The most important element to the agreement, Kneissl writes, is that it provides an end to uncertainty to governments, people, and the business community.

On Manoeuvres

Reaction expected from Philip Hammond, the chancellor, as the Office for National Statistics releases its estimate of UK GDP for the second quarter.